Objective: Students will be able to understand and connect the concept of fatalism to A Lesson Before Dying.

Aim: Is our world fatalistic? If so, how can we fix it?

Do Now:

Answer on sheet: Do you have control of your future? How do you know?

What would you do if you couldn’t control your future? How would that make you feel?

Fatalism-

Fatalism

Observe the night's mad birds,

see how their wings slice

the cold, crisp, cellophane air.

Feathers conceal deceptive strength

and well honed

survival skills.

They will outlive me,

when I am long gone,

their day's pattern will go unchanged.

Undeterred by my unwitnessed passing,

they will grace the same

avenues and squares.

Recall the mad night's birds

and how they coaxed

the fool to write.

His pen dipped in invisible ink

borrowed words fading

on a crumpled page.

Neil Crawford

Questions:

1) What is the author referring to when he says, “Undeterred by my unwitnessed passing”?

2) “They will outlive me,/when I am long gone/their day’s pattern will go unchanged.” Why does the author say this?

3) What is the poet’s message to the reader?

4) Which character from A Lesson Before Dying would most likely agree with Neil Crawford? Why? Support with specific examples/events from the story.

5) Based on the reading of the poem and the novel, is our world fatalistic? Explain.

Exit Question:

How can YOU avoid or fix fatalism?